an affiliate of the drucker and ito graduate school of management
Rick Wartzman, director of the
Drucker Institute, writes a bimonthly
column for BusinessWeek online that
ties Peter Drucker’s work to today’s
headlines. Read more here.
Rick’s recent Drucker Difference columns:
• Drucker's Take on Making Mistakes June 19, 2008
• Obama's Drucker- Style Win June 6, 2008
• Conditioning the Corporate Athlete May 22, 2008
• Exxon Mobil Needs a Longer View May 9, 2008
Letter from Claremont
It’s summer in Southern
California, and like most people
in these parts, we’re heading
out for vacation pretty soon. But
before departing, we had some
important business to take care
of: We realized that the Institute
needed a new mission
statement.
A little over a year ago, we
took on the mission of
advancing the ideas and ideals of
Peter Drucker. That goal
remains at the heart of our
work. But we’ve discovered that,
as a mission statement, it’s not
quite right.
A good mission statement,
Drucker wrote, answers three
questions for the organization:
1. Opportunities: Where is
there a genuine need in
the community?
2. Competence: What do
you do well?
3. Commitment: What do
you really believe in?
A good mission statement
articulates the organization’s
reason for being. It is the
“ rallying point,” as Drucker said,
the thing that everyone
connected with your
organization— the board, the
staff, your donors, your
customers— must know,
understand and live.
It’s also supposed to fit on a
T- shirt.
Our original mission
statement was a good start, but
it left some critical questions
unanswered: What’s the need
we’re addressing? And what are
we committed to achieving?
No matter how full of
insight Drucker’s teachings are,
simply advancing them isn’t
enough. “ The brilliant insight is
“ The Drucker Difference” on BusinessWeek. com
Drucker Society Spotlight
How Drucker Societies worldwide are
advancing ethical leadership and
effective management.
Peter Drucker used to instruct
his consulting clients, “ Don’t tell me
you had a wonderful meeting with
me. Tell me what you’re going to do
on Monday that’s different.”
With apologies to Peter, the
2008 Drucker Society Global
Symposium was a wonderful
meeting. At this second annual
gathering, the Drucker Societies
focused on translating their interest
in ethical leadership and effective
management into positive results in
their communities.
Societies shared their best
practices. They included book clubs
in Korea, where CEOs gather to
discuss Drucker’s ideas and how to
implement them in their
companies, and the Los Angeles
Society’s fledgling partnership with
a local government agency seeking
Continued on the next page
Continued on the next page
claremont graduate university
For more about the Drucker Institute, the Drucker Societies, and how you can get involved, visit us online at
www. DRUCKERinstitute. com.
1021 n dartmouth ave, claremont, ca 91711
THE WINDOW “ I don’t predict. I just look out the window and see what’s visible but not yet seen.”
— Peter F. Drucker
The newsletter of the Drucker Institute www. druckerinstitute. com July/ Aug 2008
an affiliate of the drucker and ito graduate school of management
Rick Wartzman and Zach First
Director and Assistant Director
The Evidence
The need for ethical
leadership and effective
management— that is, the
need for Peter Drucker’s
principles and practices— has
never been greater.
A survey of high- ranking
corporate executives found that
82% admitted to
cheating on the golf course.
Where will their moral
compass point when the
score really matters?
Source: 2002 survey cited by The Cheating Culture
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Peter Drucker’s reputation for
generosity with his time is
legendary, no matter the
recipient’s net worth or number of
degrees. A. G. Lafley, Chairman
and CEO of Procter & Gamble,
recalled hoping “ for an hour of
[ Peter’s] time” at his Claremont
home to talk about P& G, then
getting four. When a Wharton
MBA student phoned Drucker on
behalf of the school newspaper, he
got “ a lengthy interview... full of
insight.” Drucker famously gave
half of his consulting time, pro
bono, to nonprofit organizations.
Yet Drucker was also acutely
aware of the need to protect his
time by turning down many of the
requests he received. He kept a
stack of pre- printed response cards
at the ready that let him politely
but firmly decline all manner of
inquiries in seconds flat.
“ Your accomplishments and
your effectiveness,” Drucker wrote,
“ are set, or limited, by the way you
manage your time, your scarcest
resource.”
Those who’ve enjoyed the
insights Drucker recorded while
looking out his window owe a debt
of gratitude to his always having
kept one eye on the clock.
to apply Drucker’s
management principles in its
day- to- day operations.
Symposium participants
also heard from PainePR
Managing Partner Eric Borsum
about an online toolkit that will
help Drucker Societies share
knowledge and practices, and
from Deloitte LLP National
Service Line Leader David
Rosenblum on measuring the
impact of Drucker Society
programs. Teach for America
Senior VP Elissa Clapp spoke
about the relentlessness it takes
to build a large- scale movement
for positive social change.
The Monday after the event
marked the start of a new year
for the Drucker Societies, one
fueled by memories of a
wonderful meeting, but more
importantly one waiting to be
filled with results: new
programs, new success stories,
and lots of good, hard work.
Society Spotlight, cont’d
not by itself achievement,” Drucker cautioned. The trick is to convert
insight into effectiveness, into action.
Working with our board, we decided to go back to Drucker’s three
basic questions for the mission. Our opportunity? It’s society’s need for
ethical leadership and effective management. Our competence? It’s in
the Drucker difference: a view of management as a liberal art that
combines individual growth with collective performance in the interest
of society. And our commitment? It’s in helping people and
organizations in all sectors become more ethical and effective.
Here, then, is the Drucker Institute’s new mission: To stimulate
ethical leadership and effective management across all sectors of society.
And wouldn’t you know it? T- shirt weather is here again.
Letter from Claremont, cont’d
The newsletter of the Drucker Institute www. druckerinstitute. com July/ Aug 2008
